[machman]

It is a V-6 LE w/ auto trans. This is the first Camry I have owned and am very pleased so far. It is a really nice car. It has 89000 miles.

I have been reading on this forum that the timing belt is a common maintnance item. Is there a way to tell if it is going bad? Should I go ahead and replace it so I won't have to worry about it. Then again, there is always a chance that it has been replaced.

Are there any other things that I should look for?

Thanks,

 

[Edmond]

Congrats on the car; these Camry's are great cars and you're going to get a lot of miles out of her.

Check for maintenance stuff like the oil, tranny fluid, and coolant. Those are the main issues. Has the car had a tune up recently? Chaning the fuel filter and spark plugs will get your a smoother ride and better mileage.

 

[jhbhatia]

timing is the last thing i'd check. Get these little things done:
1. Fuel filter
2. Tranny Flush (not drain&fill)
3. throttle body cleaned...
4. sparks+wire+airfilter...

 

[machman]

Thanks for the replies. The airfilter looks almost new. It is a puralator. I was thinking about getting a K&N element. I don't know anything as far as a recent tune up. It looks like the back three plugs are a real pain to get to. I also noticed that the plug wires seem to be very small. Does the owners manual have the location of the fuel filter.

Also, it seems that some folks on this site talk down about the 1MZ give all praise to the 3MZ. Any reason besides a little more power?

I am very pleased with the power of this car. I do wish it had a little more low end power. Do these Camry's have a speed limiter on them? The altima I used to have cut off at 115mph.

Thanks guys,

 

[Fresco Bob]

camry is limited to 130mph i beleive.

ive never really seen people talk down about the 1mz, because it is a great engine, but rather talk up the 3mz a lot. 3mz is just the newer version of the 1mz, and of course, it has vvt-i, which would give you that low end torque your looking for, i think max torque is around 3600rpm, someone please correct me if im wrong.

if you look on the timing belt there should be a tag saying when it was replaced, if it has been. the belt on my car has that. the timing belt in my friends car went, fuked up the engine pretty good, lotta head damage, valve damage, it was just a beater tho, but the engine is toast

 

[bronzemaxell]

It looks like the back three plugs are a real pain to get to. I also noticed that the plug wires seem to be very small.
Thanks guys,

if you have the proper rachet wrench and nice size extension, it is not that bad at all for the v6 rear spark plugs, 20 to 30 minutes job probably

oh, for the timing belt, i was told even if the belt snap, all you need just replace the timing belt, there should not be any damage to 1mz-fe engine.

 

[jhbhatia]

no damage to this engine for the timing belt brekage issues. As far as people talking bad about 1mz, i still think for the time, it was one of the MOST torquiest (if thats a word) bad a$$ engines in the world. on torque, it owned 3.0 from nissan and honda. Imz's run forever..i've got close to 140K on my ES and 70K on my camry!

 

[machman]

Thanks guys. I believe that I got a great deal on this car and I think that there is a good chance that I will keep it for long time. I love how it drives and it is very comfortable.

As far as checking to see that tag on the belt, Do I remove the upper part of the cover to see the tag that you are talking about? Or should the tag be on the cover itself.

I think that I will pick up a Haynes Manual on this car this weekend unless someone gives me a reason to get a different manual.

 

[Fresco Bob]

i didn't have to move anything to see the tag. just after i bought it my dad was checking out the engine bay and just pointed it out

 

[amerikim]

Look for a Toyota shop manual on EBay or something.

Your milage is a little high so I would be making sure tran fluid is clean. Other than that, you should be good to go.

If looking to mod...SEARCH away....

 

[Luc]

I've had my '98 V6 LE w/AT for 6 years now, no problems whatsoever, although having only about 57k miles. You can add S/C and suspension modifications to it, as that's what I have.

Need a set of Bilstein/Eibach suspension kit? My friend is selling his.

 

[machman]

Pardon my ignorance, but I am only guessing that S/C means supercharged. Am I right?

Not really interested in modifying the suspension. Thanks anyway. I plan on pretty much keeping it stock except for maybee some HP improvements.

 

[xxpanipuri]

Thanks guys. I believe that I got a great deal on this car and I think that there is a good chance that I will keep it for long time. I love how it drives and it is very comfortable.

As far as checking to see that tag on the belt, Do I remove the upper part of the cover to see the tag that you are talking about? Or should the tag be on the cover itself.

I think that I will pick up a Haynes Manual on this car this weekend unless someone gives me a reason to get a different manual.

i have the haynes manual for my 2000 camry and i like it...been pretty satisfied with it so far...i did the tune up myself and the back 3 are a bitch BUT just do them one at a time and as long as you have the right extension and if you a socket wrench with an swiveling head it makes it a bit easier too...but it took me about 30 mins to do the rear 3 plugs i did them one at a time and took 1 cigarette/beer break after the first 2

 

[xxpanipuri]

i've only changed my fuel filter once...i'm actually planning on doing it again sometime in the next few weeks...

 

[DrtySthV6SE]

just noticed you were from Alabama, where exactly?,

congrats on the new car and the S/C would be badass, but yeah get a Haynes definately :thumbup:

 

[machman]

I am 20 miles north of Gadsden.

So does S/C mean supercharged?

I will get a Haynes by this weekend.

Thanks guys

 

[DrtySthV6SE]

cool im in Tuscaloosa

yeah s/c means supercharged

 

[Luc]

As stated previous, S/C is an acronym for supercharged.

The Haynes is a good manual, but just be aware that the pictures in there aren't always accurate, as the 1MZ-FE engine covers from '94 to '03. It will give a good indication of where the parts are at.